schoolchild playing on his grandfather’s rickshaw after his ......Sambari was suffering from severe cramps and the midwife was not sure what to do. So even when we wanted to take

Mahesh KumarMahesh Kumar, 8-year-old schoolchild playing on his grandfather’s rickshaw after his open heart surgery.

Hundreds of children like Mahesh are treated free of cost through Naandi’s schoolchild healthcare plan.

More details on page 47.

Naandi Foundation 502 Trendset TowersRoad No.2, Banjara HillsHyderabad 500 034T +91 40 23556491/92F +91 40 23556537E [email protected]

www.naandi.org

PHOTO: P SANTOSH KUMAR

Naandi Foundation NorwayT +91 40 23556491/92F +91 40 23556537E [email protected]

www.naandi.noCO

VER

PHOTO

: RAJE

NDRA

SHAW

a small body

F I R E D B Y A N U N Q U E N C H A B L E F A I T H I N

T H E I R M I S S I O N C A N A L T E R T H E C O U R S E

O F H I S T O R Y

board of trustees

– M O H A N D A S K A R A M C H A N D G A N D H I

Dr K Anji ReddyChairmanDr Reddy’s laboratories Ltd

Anand MahindraVice Chairman & Managing DirectorMahindra & Mahindra Ltd

B Ramalinga RajuChairmanSatyam Computers Services Ltd

Dr Isher Judge AhluwaliaChairpersonInternational Food Policy Research Institute

G M RaoChairman GMR Group

Padmabhushan Dr ChiranjeeviActor & Philanthropist

J A ChowdaryManaging DirectorNVIDIA Graphics Pvt Ltd

M Rajendra PrasadManaging DirectorSoma Enterprise Ltd

K S RajuChairmanNagarjuna Group

03 Chairman’s message

Customerspeak 05 Preventing maternal and neonatal deaths

13 Fighting malnutrition

21 Ensuring children learn

29 Freedom from hunger

39 Supporting girl child education

47 Quality healthcare for school children

53 Sustainable livelihoods for small and marginal farmers

61 Water for irrigation

69 Affordable, safe drinking water for all

75 Concerned citizens sign up

65 What made headlines this year

75 Audited fi nancials

board of trustees contents

of determinedspirits

PHOTO

: RAJE

NDRA

SHAW

03

The end of a decade is usually a good time to take stock. But I’m doing this one year ahead of Naandi’s 10th since this year is India’s 60th year of freedom, and hence the urge to uphold this spirit as the yardstick against which I’ve reviewed our work. In our battle for freedom against poverty, I’ve asked how successful we have been in segueing the concept of freedom into the construct of our interventions? How free are the men, women and children we work with from the deprivations they had before we began working with them? Are we happy with what we have achieved, or are there still some last miles to go? I, on my part, know Naandi has come a very long way, as my fellow trustees and I follow the Foundation’s work very closely. We are aware that the numbers in our MIS, mid lines and end lines have a positive tale to tell. But that is for another time. This year, the centre stage is on the true users of Naandi’s services – tribal communities, new mothers, children from slums, and small farmers – the people for whom we came into being. And whose satisfaction will decide how we continue. Their stories and their narratives remind me that impact is about more than just fi gures, it’s about how you’ve changed a life for the better. It’s about rekindling hope, reviving faith and renewing systems that bring the feeling of freedom closer to home – freedom from hunger, freedom from prejudice of being a girl, freedom from the pain of a child dying because there’s no money to pay for a doctor, or freedom to drink water knowing that it’s safe. Traversing tribal heartlands of Araku, to the dacoit infested valleys of Chambal in Madhya Pradesh, to schools in tough-to-reach terrains of Rajasthan and large slums of Hyderabad, the stories of change are a vote of confi dence for not only for team Naandi, but every one of you that have supported us. Our customers have given us a pat on the back. And it’s on this very heartening note that I present this year’s report to you.

Dr K Anji ReddyChairman

from thechairman

It’s about rekindling hope, reviving faith and renewing systems that bring the feeling of freedom closer to home – freedom from hunger, freedom from prejudice of being a girl, freedom from the pain of a child dying because there’s no money to pay for a doctor, or freedom to drink water knowing that it’s safe.“

”

preventing maternal and neonatal deaths

S A F E M O T H E R H O O D

Out of the 25 million infants born in India every year, 1.2 million die during the first month of life.

– New Born Health, Key to Child Survival, Child Health Division, Department of Family Welfare, Ministry of Welfare, Government of India.

N E W B O R N H E A L T H , K E Y T O C H I L D S U R V I V A L , C H I L D H E A L T H

D I V I S I O N , D E P A R T M E N T O F F A M I L Y W E L F A R E , M I N I S T R Y O F

W E L F A R E , G O V E R N M E N T O F I N D I A .

PHOTO

: RAJE

NDRA

SHAW

preventing maternal

and neonatal deathsKOMBALI ’S STORY WITH INPUTS FROM SAMBARI AND

OTHER USERS OF THE PROGRAM IN VIZAG DISTRICT

07

Marriages are performed with traditional festivities in the tribal belt of Paderu, Andhra Pradesh as it is anywhere in the country, but in villages such as Peddapadu they come with a grim underline. Brides will one day become mothers, and there is no guarantee here that they will live to see their babies, or if the babies themselves will survive. At 24, Kombali has already had two miscarriages. She had repeated urinary tract infections and was anaemic because of her repeated abortions. “I wasn’t sure I could ever have a baby,” it was this fear that made her resort to rough and ready incantations and prayers hoping the ‘evil eye’ on her would go because “there wasn’t any medical help and no one could tell me what to do to avoid a miscarriage,” she says.

Prgnant women don’t have it any easier. Vantala Sambari, was eight months pregnant when she died this year. “It’s unmotorable here on the hill. Sambari was suffering from severe cramps and the midwife was not sure what to do. So even when we wanted to take her to the doctor we couldn’t. Do you think it was possible for us to make her walk, or take her on cycle to the hospital? The Primary Healthcare Centre is 25 kms from here. She died. Like so many women die here,” 28-year-old Kameshwara Rao, Sambari’s brother represents the growing frustration in communities here about why deaths that can be prevented are not.

It is this concern that has spurred Naandi’s Safe Motherhood programme

that provides professional healthcare to all families preparing to have

children, and those with new borns and infants.

PHOTO: VISHWANATH

Kombali with her 3 month old baby boy at Peddapadu village, Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh

As a part of the programme, the auxiliary nurse and midwives, the pre-school instructors, trained birth attendants (TBAs) and health activists, who usually belong to the community are trained in essential healthcare and delivery techniques to cater to women and children especially those in far-fl ung areas away from the primary healthcare centers. These health workers identify pregnant women and advise them on better health practices such as taking low cost readily available nutritious food, timely check-ups and immunisation. To make these services accessible to the women check-ups are conducted on fi xed-days regularly at the villages itself. Kombali became one of the regular attendees of the fi xed day healthcare services at her village as she wanted to try again for a baby. She was put on antibiotics and haemoglobin enhancing drugs, while her diet was regulated by the midwife. “There is no reason why I should lose another baby, that’s what they told me at the health camp,” she recalls.

“We realize that we are the ones responsible for safe births in our villages. It’s a huge responsibility and we cannot take it lightly,” Lingamma, like the other midwives and birth attendants, has been trained to counsel pregnant women about diet and precautions, and also deliver babies as most times proper care, diet and immunisation reduces complications that may otherwise require surgical deliveries. And just in case there is an emergency, she can call for the special ambulance service that transports the mother to either the nearest Primary Healthcare Centre or certifi ed maternity centers run by missionaries or other NGOs. Cases are also transferred under the supervision of Naandi’s health team to towns in case there is a requirement.

Since all these service providers are networked under a common vision ‘to save lives’, personnel, equipment, and medical supplies all are geared towards it. “If it’s an emergency, Naandi’s pre school instructors and local community activists come to our rescue,” explains Gemmula Singari, who’s in her second trimester. Each village now has community activists, who are trained to transport emergency cases at all hours. Kombali has delivered a healthy baby boy. “When I held the baby in my hands, I just couldn’t believe it was alive and breathing,” she says. “He’s a gift from God,” Kombali’s mother-in-law says. But for Kombali, god was in the service, “if Lingamma wasn’t there to take care of me, if she didn’t dog my footsteps and make sure I was following all the instructions they gave at the health camp, I would not have been carrying this baby.” Hundreds of tribal women are covered under the Safe Motherhood programme in the Paderu area of Andhra Pradesh.

VITAL STATISTICS – SAFE MOTHERHOOD

State: Andhra Pradesh

District: Visakhapatnam

Women supported: 723

Villages covered: 100

Partners: Government of Andhra Pradesh, NICE Foundation, Swedish International Development

Agency (SIDA), Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Indian Council for Child Welfare

(ICCW), Missionary Congregation

09

PHOTO: RANJIT SINHA

PHOTO: VISHWANATH

The ambulance service is a lifeline connecting remote villages to healthcare centres

A safe motherhood service in action

A pregnant mother during a routine check-up at a fi xed-day health service at Dumbriguda, Paderu area, Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh

Pregnant women and children awaiting their turn

11

PHOTO: MUSTAFA

PHOTO: RANJIT SINHA

PHOTO: RANJIT SINHA

PHOTO: RANJIT SINHA

Children being immunized Health attendants maintain pregnant women’s health profi les

fighting malnutrition

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: SU

NIT

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10 children across the world die of starvation every minute. 4 of them from India – Unicef: Report Card on Nutrition

E A R L Y C H I L D H O O D

C A R E A N D E D U C A T I O N

MAIPAL’S STORY WITH INPUTS FROM OTHER

USERS OF THE PROGRAMME IN MADHYA PRADESH

fighting malnutrition

Severely malnourished! There were several children in Bhadan Khurd, a tiny village in the hostile terrains of the Aravalli hills of Madhya Pradesh, who were on the Malnourishment Alert List of the state. One-year-old Maipal Kharadi was on it too.

“Economically, it’s a poor village. Going hungry is common here. We elders get used to it, but children are always the worst hit,” says Mangilal Damor by way of an apologetic explanation. He teaches at the Government Primary School and knows all the children in the village by name and family, especially the ones on the list. “We are supposed to be of help to these children, there are so many good schemes for health, nutrition and education, but….” A drought prone area, a hilly, sensitive terrain – no family here has an easy life and their children even less. “I wasn’t able to breast-feed Maipal, my body wasn’t making as much milk. I had to work in the fi elds all through the day. He grew up eating whatever little was available at my in-laws place. I knew he was frail. We tried giving him the best we could,” Nakudi was defensive, like any mother would be, when she heard Maipal’s name was on the list. A two-year-old needs to weigh around 10 to 11.5 kgs but Maipal weighed less than fi ve. Nakudi took it personally.

Fortunately for her, Bhadan Khurd decided to take it personally too. Project Bachpan (childhood) was what brought this on.

“As with any service, if you are unhappy with what you are getting,

you have to complain, if you don’t, nothing will change,” Irfan Khan,

Naandi’s Project Bachpan representative, explains the underlined strategy of the

project that unless communities themselves don’t demand for quality schemes for

their children they will not get satisfactory service.

15

PHOTO: NAANDI FOUNDATION

Maipal Kharadi is no longer in the malnourished list thanks to Project Bachpan

Of the several tasks a member of the Project Bachpan does, one is to highlight and bring into open all the issues a child in the village faces.

It’s taken nearly ten months for him to motivate the villagers of Bhadan Khurd to convert from resigned concern to active demand. “They weren’t aware of all the programs that the government has for them, so how could we expect them to demand anything?” asks Irfan. He along with the Project Bachpan team held intensive awareness campaigns on ‘child rights’, and had several meetings to introduce to the village the range of child welfare programmes – right from home based care for a child to immunisation to education and health and nutrition care at the pre school – that were available, and how they could improve their children’s health and quality of life.

Project Bachpan also roped in the local government service providers for children – for example the Anganwadi (pre school) workers and the school teachers themselves – and invited them to these awareness camps where they participated and were trained to be more effective and responsive to the needs of the children in the community.

“I didn’t know that a drop of oil on a roti, or giving just one potato goes a long way in keeping children healthy even if one cannot afford one square meal a day,” says Punji Bai, the Anganwadi worker, who is helping dispense better nutrition advice to the community. How to retard malnutrition, which is rampant in the area, even when there is less to eat, how schools and Anganwadi centres can improve the health and nutrition levels of the children, are all part of the trainings and inputs the Project Bachpan team provides to the communities and the service providers.

“Suddenly, we don’t have to feel helpless and guilty if we are not able to feed our children. The Anganwadi takes care of Maipal’s afternoon food, I make sure he’s there everyday. The village is beginning to look after its children. I wouldn’t have believed this hadn’t I seen this happening with my own eyes,” Nakudi’s difensiveness has given way to sheer amazement, and relief that her son and the other children are no longer on that dreaded ‘severely malnourished’ list.

Project Bachpan’s Childhood Care and Education services are reviving what childhood should mean across rural and tribal hamlets across Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

VITAL STATISTICS – EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION

States: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh


Children supported: 42,109

Anganwadis supported: 469

17

PHOTO: SUNITHA NATTIPHOTO: SUNITHA NATTI



ANDHRA PRADESH

Areas: Paderu, Mahabubnagar, Khammam

PADERU




Partners: Government of Andhra Pradesh, Indian Council for Child Welfare

MAHABUBNAGAR


Children supported: 909



KHAMMAM


Children supported: 642



MADHYA PRADESH

Area: Bajna




Partners: Government of Madhya Pradesh, World Bank

19


Anganwadi workers ensure all children eat a meal

Anganwadi workers ensure all children eat a meal

ensuring children learn

PHOTO

: RAJE

NDRA

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G R A D E S P E C I F I C C O M P E T E N C I E S

F O R G O V E R N M E N T S C H O O L G O I N G

C H I L D R E N

Only 14 per cent of the children surveyed could do multiplication while only 18 per cent of them could write their names or read full sentences– Centre for Advocacy

ensuring children

learnKOMALI’S STORY WITH INPUTS FROM OTHER USERS OF

THE PROGRAMME IN ANDHRA PRADESH

Komali has never got a pass mark in any of her subjects. She’s in Std III at the Government Primary School, at the Bhagat Singh Colony, Hyderabad, and will continue to be promoted every year based on her attendance and not performance. This is the system in the schools, not that this has bothered Komali’s mother, Nagamani, who runs a makeshift tea stall.

Nagamani and her husband, Kotaiah migrated to Hyderabad from the Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, a decade back in search of work. They are slum dwellers. Kotaiah drives a three wheeler auto taken on rent and Nagamani, runs her tea stall. “We make about Rs 90 to 100 everyday. For the past six years we’ve been trying to get proper shelter for the family (of fi ve members) and food. So worrying about my daughter’s school result was not anywhere in my priorities” says Nagamani, who made her 15-year-old son’s discontinue his education “because I don’t think he was learning much” and like his father he too drives an auto for fares now. Like Komali, there are thousands of children, who despite attending a government school for years are not able to demonstrate that they’re learning. “In January 2006 when we conducted a baseline learning competency test, Komali couldn’t even identify the English and Telugu

“I had put Komali in school just because I didn’t want her to be idle, or

with me at the tea stall, she’s still very young. Another two years and

I was going to take her out of school to help me with the stall. We

need the money.”

23

PHOTO: SUNITHA NATTI

Komali with her mother at their make-shift tea stall, Filmnagar, Hyderabad

alphabets,” says Kamala, Naandi’s academic support coordinator at Komali’s school.

But once the Ensuring Children Learn (ECL) programme started here, things began to change. Special classes with new teaching techniques, giving individual attention to low performers, involving school teachers themselves in using such learning material that helps children understand the logic of what they are learning - are all helping low performers move ahead.

“In just about 18 months, Komali is a new person. Her grades have improved she’s got 49/50 in Telugu and 46/50 in Math and this is Std IVth grade studies we’re talking about,” says Kamala, who has been monitoring her and several other children’s progress across schools.

Besides, helping children understand basic concepts in math, science and language the program also inculcates a sense of interest amongst parents about how their children are faring in school. For instance, as part of the programme parents are periodically invited in a group and updated on the child’s progress.

“When I attended the parents meeting for the fi rst time, Komali was failing in all subjects. I felt very embarrassed. But after a year, the teacher tells me she is one of the brightest students in her class. I feel very proud. I’m not going to take Komali out of school now that she is doing so well,” says Nagamani.

VITAL STATISTICS – EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION

States: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh

Total children: 1,27,931

Total schools: 1,120

ANDHRA PRADESH

Districts: Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Mahabubnagar

HYDERABAD

Areas: Asifnagar, Sheikpet, Golconda, Bahadurpura, Bandlaguda, Ameerpet, Khairtabad,

Musheerabad, Secunderabad, Maredpally and Thirumalgiri

Children: 64,000

Government Schools: 444

Partners: Department of Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh (GOAP), Sarva

Siksha Abhiyan (GOAP), Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and several corporates

VISAKHAPATNAM

25

PHOTO: SUNITHA NATTI PHOTO: P SANTOSH KUMARPHOTO: SUNITHA NATTI

Activity-based workbooks help children practice and retain what they learn

The child tracking matrix: developed by Naandi’s education resource group keeps track of every child’s improving learning levels

Children enjoy learning after school hours at the academic resource centres run by Naandi at government schools

VISAKHAPATNAM

Areas: Ananthagiri, Araku Valley, Dumbriguda, Hukumpeta and Munchingput

Children: 8,341


Partners: Department of Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh (GOAP), Swedish

International Development Agency, Integrated Tribal Development Agency, Indian Council

for Child Welfare

MAHABUBNAGAR

Areas: Gadwal, Itekyal, Narayanpet, Dhanwada, Utkoor, Gattu, Maldakal, Ieeja

Children: 4,350


Partners: Department of Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP), Sarva

Siksha Abhiyan (GoAP), Bayer Bio-Science (P) Ltd, Mandal and Gram Panchayat

representatives and Mahila Samakhyas, Indian Council for Child Welfare

MADHYA PRADESH

Areas: Sheopur, Karahal, Vijaypur

Children: 36,813


Partners: Department of Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP), Sarva Siksha

Abhiyan (GoMP), Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Room to Read

CHHATTISGARH

Areas: Kanker, Bastar, Dantewada

Children: 12,527


Partners: Department of Education, Government of Chhattisgarh (GoC), Sarva Siksha Abhiyan

(GoC), Reach India, Bastar Sewak Mandal, Gramoday Seva Sanasthan, Dantewada district,

Snehagiri Missionary Sisters, Social Education and Basic Awareness, Bastar district.

MAHARASHTRA

Areas: Mumbai

Children: 1,900


Partners: Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Municipal Corporation of Mumbai, KC Mahindra

Education Trust and several corporates.

27

PHOTO: RAJENDRA SHAW


Naandi’s education coordinators review the child tracking matrix as part of programme monitoring

A preschool student shows off his magnum opus on the slate

PHOTO

: RANJIT

SIN

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freedom from

hunger T H E M I D - D A Y M E A L

India: Home to 50 per cent of the world’s hungry. That’s more than 350 million people – United Nations World Food Program

freedom from

hunger KISHAN LAL’S STORY WITH INPUTS FROM OTHER

USERS OF THE PROGRAMME IN RAJASTHAN

Rotis and a paste of red chillies. This is what seven-year-old Kishan Lal Gameti, from the village of Jogiyon Ka Gura in Rajasthan would have for lunch. And it is not as if he got to eat lunch everyday.

To their credit, his maternal grandparents, have tried their best to see that Kishan got at least one piece of roti in a day, “it’s all right if we miss our share, he’s a growing boy,” they speak of him very fondly, but looking around their crumbling mud hut with pieces of assorted plastic and fl attened tin sheets serving as a roof, it is evident that they would love to do more but they just don’t have the money or the strength for it. “I heard from the neighbours that the government school has started giving very tasty food for the students at lunch. I owed it to Kishan to send him to school,” says Gamana Lal, his grandfather who has visited the school and seen with his own eyes what meals are being served and whether Kishan and the other children actually get unlimited helpings of the meal. Kishan, after he has his fi ll, also packs a little of the food he gets at school into a plastic bag, for his “nana, nani” that’s what he calls his grandfather and grandmother. The Midday Meal has become a shot in the arm for the school enrolment efforts of the government of Rajasthan because of its one wholesome meal guarantee to every student. “The food has never come late till date and there is always suffi cient for the children. I personally feel this is the quality we should give our children. Free food doesn’t mean it should be cheap,” says Mrs Gandhi, headmistress, Government Primary School, Jogiyon ka Gura. Hitherto one of the local women cooked the food in an open ground near the school. But with the midday meal now being cooked and delivered by Naandi, “We can spend more

Orphaned at four, Kishan lives with his grandparents and loves school

because “I’ve never eaten food like this at my house before.”

31

PHOTO: ARVIND TRIVEDI

Kishan Lal Gameti, and his grandmother Banki Bai Gameti in Jogiyon Ka Gura, Rajasthan

time teaching children instead of supervising the cooking. And this meal is also of far better quality,” says Deepti Sharma, one of the teachers in charge of serving the food.

“I like the sweet dalia and dal batti the best,” Kishan’s preference comes from the fact that for all six days in a week, children get six different meals. “Food is always an attraction. Now that children are given nutritious food, they are far more active and sharp. Absenteeism and drop outs have reduced,” points out Hema Ramji Ghamati, Sarpanch, Jogiyon ka Gura Panchayat, whose son also goes to the same school.

It’s been almost two years since children of the school at Jogiyon ka Gura, have begun to have their ‘Naandi’ midday meal. Kishan has since gained two kgs and he doesn’t mind the having the occasional roti and chilli paste at home since the school has begun providing more variety.

He now wants to bring his older brother and younger sister, who live with his paternal uncles, back to the village so that “they too can enjoy the afternoon lunch like I do.” For his grandparents (because of their age they rarely get any wage labour work at house construction sites) a 20 feet by 20 feet piece of land is where they eke out a livelihood. And, in spite of the fact that bringing two more children would stretch their reserves to the limit, they are happy that the children will be together again and this way they will also go to school. “I’ll be able to save face with my daughter when I meet her after I die,” says Banki Bai, Kishan’s grandmother.

VITAL STATISTICS – MIDDAY MEAL

States: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan

Number of Kitchens: 14

Number of schools covered: 4,789

Number of children served: 6,09,255

ANDHRA PRADESH

HYDERABAD

Schools covered: 867

Number of children: 1,06,000

VISAKHAPATNAM

Number of children: 35,450


Partners: Government of Andhra Pradesh, Global Alliance for Improved

Nutrition (Hyderabad only)

The Midday Meal program is feeding 6,09,255 children across Rajasthan,

Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh today.

33

PHOTO: CLAUDE AVEZARD



Fine quality tomatoes getting readied for cooking

13,000 kgs of rice is cooked everyday for children in the Hyderabad central kitchen

Raw rice is soaked in salt water as part of its cleaning process

RAJASTHAN

UDAIPUR



BHILWARA


Schools covered: 86

GANGRAR



JHALAWAR



GANDHINAGAR



NIMBAHEDA



KAPASAN



KISHANGARH



MANDAPIYA



Partners: Government of Rajasthan, Hindustan Zinc Limited

DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd, Zilla Parishad, Udaipur, Aditya cement (Grasim Industries Ltd),

Ratan Lal Kanwar Lal Patni Charities, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Mewar Chamber Development Ltd,

PB Exim Pvt Ltd, Siva Balaji Stone Suppliers, Stone on Net Pvt Ltd, UMDS Pvt Ltd

35


10,000 rotis are produced per hour from the roti making machines in the kitchens

MADHYA PRADESH

JABALPUR



INDORE



BHOPAL



Partners: Government of Madhya Pradesh

37

PHOTO: RANJENDRA SHAW PHOTO: RANJIT SINHA

PHOTO: RANJIT SINHA

Rotis, lemon rice, dal baati, sambar, dal… with different meals each day children get to eat a variety of nutritious food

Children get biscuits

Special transport coordinators ensure effi cient loading and timely delivery of food at schools

Supporting girl child

education P R O J E C T N A N H I K A L I

Only 3 out of 10 girls enrolled in Indian schools complete Std X

– Government of India

PHOTO

: RAJE

NDRA

SHAW

Supporting girl child

education “I’m not going to move to my husband’s house till I turn 18.” Her parents got Radha married last year when she was 14 in the usual tradition of the area at Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh. But Radha’s decision was anything but traditional. “Girls are usually sent to their in-law’s homes by the time they are 16, after a ceremony called Gauna. Gauna indicates that the girl is ready to take on the mental and physical responsibilities of being a wife. In Radha’s case we’ve stopped that from happening,” says Dheeraj, who belongs to a cadre of education workers from Naandi that build bridges between quality education and stereotypical social decisions that force girls to drop out of school at the cost of their own personal development. “I know it is not legal to get girls married early but I had some money that I had saved, and the marriage proposal that came for Radha was very good.” Radha’s father Mohanlal Adivasi like several families in the Karahal area, are very poor given the perennial drought like conditions that prevail here. And marriage of daughters is still considered a big responsibility for parents.

RADHA ADIVASI’S STORY FROM MADHYA PRADESH

“It’s next to impossible to stop early marriages here, but what we are doing

as part of the Nanhi Kali project is convincing both the girl and her parents

that they have to complete at least Std X and only then move to their

in-laws houses,” Dheeraj explains the team’s strategy in these areas that buys the

girls time to complete ten years of formal education.

41

PHOTO: ANJALI DUBEY & DINESH SHRIVASTAVA

Radha is thrilled to return to school to resume her studies after her marriage, Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh

“She is our Nanhi Kali, and we will make all arrangements to make sure

she continues to go to this school, if that’s what she wants,” Project Nanhi Kali,

takes on the guardianship of the education of girl children so they can

continue their schooling. And girls are slowly realising that there is

someone out there looking after them and their being in school is no longer

dependant only on the decision their parents.

“Last month my husband’s family came here to take me to their home, I informed Dheeraj bhai (Naandi’s community activist for the Nanhi Kali project) about it that very instant.” Radha’s decision to continue schooling, to speak English – she’s fared rather well with a 35/50 performance this unit test – convinced Dheeraj to spend several hours with Ram Lakhan Adivasi, Radha’s new husband, who was not only surprised at Radha’s insistence to study, but also with the fact that the village had gathered as a whole to convince him to let her stay with her parents till 18. “If Radha wants to study, then she should,” he said to her parents and his, bemused. Even though Radha’s present school is a middle level government school with classes up to Std VIII only, the Khirkiri Higher Secondary School which is a 40 minutes bus ride away is where Radha wants to go to complete Std X.

“My parents didn’t have too much of a choice about delaying my marriage since it was a question of money, but there is no way I’m going to leave home and stop studying. They’ve had their way. I’m going to have mine now,” says Radha, emboldened and confi dent that her marks and the Nanhi Kali team will not allow her dream of going to high school, be hijacked as it has happened so often with so many girls in her village in the past.

VITAL STATISTICS: NANHI KALI

States: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan

Girl children supported: 29,528

Partners: K C Mahindra Education Trust, Government of Rajasthan, Government of Andhra

Pradesh, Government of Maharastra, Government of Chhattisgarh, Government of Rajasthan and

thousands of individual donors.

43

PHOTO: RAJENDRA SHAW PHOTO: RANJENDRA SHAW

Fun-based learning and activities are often held to encourage talent

Nanhi Kalis with their special kits that include academic as well as personal use materials

ANDHRA PRADESH

Areas: Hyderabad, Paderu, Mahabubnagar

HYDERABAD


PADERU Girl children supported: 3,859

MAHABUBNAGAR


MADHYA PRADESHAreas: Sheopur, Karahal, VijaypurGirl children supported: 2,999

CHHATTISGARH Areas: Bhanupratappur, Charmand, NaraharpurGirl children supported: 1,413

MAHARASTRA Areas: Kandivali, Borovali, WorliGirl children supported: 2,654

RAJASTHAN Areas: Dhariyawad, Jhadol, KotadaGirl children supported: 10,000

45


Bags, uniform, books, pencils…things that most under privileged children lack access are provided for all Nanhi Kalis

PHOTO

: RANJIT

SHAW

2 4 / 7 H E A L T H C A R E F O R

C H I L D R E N I N G O V E R N M E N T

S C H O O L S

quality healthcare for school

children

Health emergency toll free numbersHyderabad: 1-800-425-4084, Udaipur: 1-800-180-6010

When Mahesh was diagnosed with a hole in his heart last year, the only thought that crossed his grandmother’s mind was that of his death. But, then this wasn’t the fi rst time that Yadamma had contemplated her grandson dying.

Mahesh lost his mother within 20 days of his birth, (his father had committed suicide a few months before he was born). Yadamma, who was already caring for Mahesh’s older sister, had wanted to throw the newborn in the well. She was sure the pressure to bring up two children at her age would be too much. But the heart of a grandmother prevailed, and ever since she’s done her best to bring him and his sister up.

Yadamma is a vegetable vendor and her husband Anjaiah, a rickshaw puller. They live in a slum settlement in Hyderabad. “We bring home just about Rs 50-60 everyday. Apart from paying house rent and other expenses, we are left with little to survive on,” says Yadamma. “But we wanted to provide Mahesh and his sister with everything my daughter would have wanted to give them. By skipping one meal we were able to buy them milk powder. Mahesh goes to school, as does his sister, this is something we hadn’t provided for our own children.”

It was at his school (Government Upper Primary School Chatrimet, Lalitha Bagh) during a health screening camp for all children that Mahesh’s condition was spotted by the doctors.

MAHESH’S STORY WITH INPUTS FROM OTHER

USERS OF THE PROGRAMMES

quality healthcare for school

children

“We never thought he had a heart problem. But when the doctor informed

us, we were worried. We can’t even afford to buy medicines for a fever,

how would we be able to afford his treatment? It was just too cruel to think

that I would lose Mahesh, he has so much energy, so much life…”

49

PHOTO: SUNITHA NATTI

Mahesh Kumar, Chatrimet, Hyderabad with his grandparents, after his open heart surgery

But fortunately for Mahesh and his grand parents within six months of the diagnosis, his surgery was scheduled at Care Hospitals, a super speciality hospital in Hyderabad. Mahesh, since he was a government school student, automatically came under Naandi’s Schoolchild Healthcare Plan which meant no matter what disease he or any child had or acquired in the future, complete treatment and healthcare would be taken care of, free of cost for the family.

“No one in the family had ever undergone such a big operation. We had no idea what to do, but people from the health programme were around all the time. We are so used to people treating us as if we are dirt, but at the hospital they showed us a lot of patience and helped us.” Anjaiah is very thankful that they “didn’t have to pay a single paisa for Mahesh.”

“This is nothing but a miracle for us. When I see Mahesh smiling, jumping and talking, it reminds us of the second life Naandi has given him,” says Yadamma.

One lakh children benefi t from the schoolchild healthcare plan run by Naandi at government schools in Hyderabad and Udaipur.

VITAL STATISTICS: SCHOOLCHILD HEALTHCARE PLAN

States: Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan

Children treated: 1,00,000

ANDHRA PRADESH

HYDERABAD

Children treated: 60,000

Partners: Government of Andhra Pradesh, Nice Foundation, Michael and Susan Dell

Foundation, Care Hospitals, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology,

Ramaiah Kidney Foundation, FMG Dental hospital

RAJASTHAN

UDAIPUR

Children treated: 40,000

Partners – Government of Rajasthan, Nice Foundation, Shri Ratanlal Kanwarlal Patna Charities, Urban Improvement Trust, Nagar Nigam, SAL Hospitals Ahmedabad, Alakh Nayan Mandir, Pacifi c Dental College, Wellspring-Amolak Diagnostic Centre Udaipur.

51

PHOTO: RANJIT SHAW

A child being taken to hospital in the school healthcare van

PHOTO: AJIT KUMAR ROUT

sustainable livelihoods

for small and marginal

farmersT H E A R A K U V A L L E Y T R I B A L S ’

C O F F E E C O L L E C T I V E

Small and marginal farmers constitute 78 per cent of the entire Indian farming community. Absence of rural road connectivity, improper management, lack of market intelligence and inadequate credit support are unfavorable conditions for farmers. – 10th Five Year Plan

PHOTO

: AJIT

KUM

AR R

OUT

Bisoi Arjun, 50, attracts a lot of attention. Clad in crimson shorts and t-shirt, Arjun’s mid life ‘modern’ fashion statement is a cause for good-natured envy in his community who still don the bare essentials traditional to their communities. His piece de resistance is a golden wristwatch bought as a celebration of his bumper coffee crop last year after four decades of strenuous work in the fi elds.

In this little village called Mallisingram in Araku Valley mandal, Andhra Pradesh, Arjun’s is no less than a rags-to-riches story. From a tattered thatched roof adobe hut 20 years back to a pucca house, cattle, a bicycle and eleven grams of gold – Arjun’s story, the story of organic coffee, is the heart and soul of tribal economic resurgence in Araku Valley.

The man who earned barely more than Rs 500 per annum in the 90s has this year earned Rs 50,000. “I thought, I was born to borrow money and would drown in debts. I used to walk more than 30 kilometers a day to Gondivalasa and other villages to work in the fi elds of the moneylenders. All we knew was to grow seasonal crops like cabbage or carrots on the hill slopes after clearing the trees. Whatever we grew, we ate.” A sum of Rs 5,000 borrowed at a ridiculously high rate of 60 per cent from the money lender kept Arjun and his family of four on the brink of starvation for eight years.

“I’d dry mango seeds and boil them with water. We would drink this every time we were hungry,” Arjun’s wife, Bisoi Kamala recalls the tough times where “apart from the occasional vegetables grown in our fi elds, we nevercooked other dishes.”

sustainable livelihoods

for small and marginal

farmersBISOI ARJUN’S STORY FROM ARAKU VALLEY, ANDHRA PRADESH

55


Bisoi Arjun with his wife Kamala at their home, Araku, Visakhapatnam District

But with the introduction of the organic coffee project, thousands of farmers are now looking at coffee farming as a steady source of livelihood. “Initially, we couldn’t understand why there were so many trainings for us. We thought we knew how to grow things, but no, the amount of care that we had to take of the plantations was quite a lot, making manure, pruning the shrubs in a particular way, many of us didn’t think it was worth putting in so much effort,” Arjun looks back to fi ve years ago, and is quick to revert that “I’m glad we continued, because no one else that is growing coffee in the traditional way has even come near the incomes we have managed after going organic.”

For Kamala that the family now “eats three meals a day coupled with seasoned vegetables, tamarind rasam and occasionally chicken” is a great sense of pride and security, “we are confi dent that we’ll give our children a better life than what our parents could give us.” What’s giving impetus to the entire programme is the formation of the The Small and Marginal Tribal Farmers Mutually Aided Cooperative Society (SAMTFACS), Araku, a Tribal Farmers’ Collective. A, by the farmer, for the farmer and of the farmer collective that’s become the representative body of organic coffee growers such as Arjun. The members of this Collective are right now being trained to take environmental, fi nancial and marketing decisions on behalf of their members. “Naandi ensures that we grow the crop organically, and also helps us out with good market linkages in the country and abroad. This way, our productivity is improving and

profi tability too is going up,” explains Arjun.

For instance, in 2005, of the 120 kgs Arjun grew in his fi elds, he sold 80 kgs to the local traders since he was not very confi dent how effective the collective would be and gave only 40 kgs to it to trade on his behalf. While the local sale fetched Arjun Rs 2,400, the coffee sold through the collective earned him Rs 2,800. The difference was apparent and Arjun clearly knew which path to tread.

Bisoi Arjun’s tale might get better yet, as will the stories of 8,000

more farmers who have put their faith in the Collective and the coffee

they are growing organically across 8,000 acres today.

57

PHOTO: AJIT KUMAR ROUT PHOTO: RAJENDRA SHAW



The organically grown Arabica - Araku EmeraldTM as it is called - grown by the collective is today traveling abroad for international trade. A Fair trade and an International Organic certifi cation have made this possible.

With more trade the better the Collective earns. Today, each farmer who belongs to the Coffee Collective has a tale to tell. Some are as dramatic as Arjun’s, others are of relief that food and economic security is back.

The organic farming initiative is now being introduced for small farmers in two very eco fragile areas of the country - Nagaland and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

VITAL STATISTICS : ORGANIC FARMING

States: Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Andaman and Nicobar islands

ANDHRA PRADESH

District: Visakhapatnam

Villages: 432

Farmers: 8,000

Crop: Organic Coffee

Partners: Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Coffee Board of India, Small

and Marginal Tribal Farmers Mutually Aided Cooperative Society, Sir Ratan Tata Trust,

Solidaridad, Holland

NAGALAND

Districts: Kohima, Dimapur

Villages: 36

Farmers: 3,000

Crops: Pineapple, passion fruit, ginger, turmeric

Partners: Government of Nagaland (Department of Women Development)

ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS

Block: Diglipur, North Andaman

Villages: 30

Farmers: 300

Crops: vegetables like tomato, chillies, brinjal, cucumber, beans, cabbage and caulifl our,

coconut, arekanut, bananas, etc.

Partners: The Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands

59


10

water for irrigation

PHOTO

: CL

AUDE

AVEZ

ARD

R E V I V I N G L I F T

I R R I G A T I O N S C H E M E S

KODI CHIMPIRAIAH’S STORY WITH INPUTS FROM OTHER

USERS OF THE PROGRAM IN ANDHRA PRADESH

2007: They lie next to each other. Both Appu Rattaiah’s and Payam Venkataiah’s fi elds in Lachchigudem village. Adjoining them is Badraiah’s two-acre fi eld along with Laxmaiah, Narasimha Rao and Anjaneyulu’s land. The cluster of these small landholdings is today a mosaic of abundance with water-laden canals crisscrossing through bright golden paddy, green maize and ragi fi elds.

Cut to 2006. Different year, greyer picture. The villain being water, or the non-availability of it, since the irrigation system that was constructed to bring water into farmers’ fi elds had become defunct. This was just one of the hundreds of defunct Lift Irrigation (LI) schemes that dotted the fast-drying agricultural landscape in Andhra Pradesh.

Appu Rattaiah, a wizened old farmer, recalls those days. “When the LI scheme was fi rst set up, I rarely got suffi cient water to grow my maize. Some farmers whose lands were nearer to the canals would usurp water, and we’d have constant bickering and fi ghts over who would get how much. Obviously it couldn’t continue like this. Many farmers like me who did not get water refused to pay the water cess and soon there wasn’t suffi cient money to pay for repairs when the pumpset collapsed. No one was in charge. It was as if this LI scheme was no one’s responsibility. And it meant very hard days for us without water.”

This was the state of affairs for nine years. Each year the yield from Rattaiah’s fi elds dwindled – in 1995 the total yield was eight bags but by 2003, the number declined to four — because the only water the fi elds got was when it rained. And rains every year were erratic. He was Rs 35,000 in debt: money he borrowed to get his daughter married, and to keep up with household expenses. “I even considered selling this land as a last resort but no one was willing to buy it. This area was becoming notorious for irrigation problems and there were more sellers of land than buyers for them.”

water for irrigation

63


And in spite of his advancing years he planned to migrate, to look for work in the nearby towns, because as he says “I was afraid that all I’d leave for my children was a legacy of debts.”

Since there was no water and even lesser opportunities to manage whatever the rains brought in, farmers did the only thing they thought best — they left being farmers and resigned themselves to being labourers in the fi elds of big farmers that had borewells, or scout for daily wage labour work in nearby towns. For many, the pride of being a landowner, however small, was replaced by the humiliation of begging for work since many small farmers were now joining the queue for wage labour jobs - jobs that fetched men Rs 30 and women a mere Rs 20 per day.

It meant living hand to mouth for many, and Kodi Chimpiraiah, who has six children, remembers only too clearly the days of no food “you feel ashamed of yourself as a parent when you see your children going hungry. Why I didn’t kill myself I don’t know.”

But with the revival of the LI scheme, the green slowly but steadily soaked back into the stark picture of need. “We’ve made sure that all the problems we had in the earlier days to manage the LI scheme are not repeated. We’ve all become members of the lift irrigation farmer societies in our villages. Naandi made it very clear that unless we look after the LI, and run it well the story of disrepair would repeat itself again” says Penubella Badraiah, president, Pandirimadugu Farmers’ Mutually Aided Cooperative Society, in Lachigudem, Andhra Pradesh.

Farmers were trained to run the LIs, regulate water distribution equitably, collect cess from members and maintain accounts to pay for the O&M. In Bhadrachalam, the farmers of the LI society have now begun to grow two-crop cycles including paddy, maize and ragi. This is bringing them huge income benefi ts. “I think this year all in all I’ve able to earn Rs 9,000 after the scheme was revived. It was less than Rs 3,000 last year. It’s unbelievable,” says Appu Rattaiah.

There are nearly 35,000 farmers like Chimpiraiah and Appu Rattaiah whose incomes have begun to go green and abundant like their fi elds after Naandi took up the LI revival and sustainability program for small farmers on the invitation of the government of Andhra Pradesh.

VITAL STATISTICS: LIFT IRRIGATION


“I’m the fi rst person in my family to be without a single debt today.

I’ve paid them all off, and I’ve even begun to save,” says Chimpiraiah displaying

his State bank passbook which he has taken to carrying with him as a

talisman with endearing pride.

65

PHOTO: CLAUDE AVEZARD PHOTO: CLAUDE AVEZARD

Districts: Krishna, Anantapur, Khammam, Kurnool, Medak, Mahabubnagar,

West Godavari, Guntur

Villages: 228

Farmer families: 34,355

Acres under irrigation: 89,279

Lift irrigation schemes revived: 103

Farmer societies formed and running: 103

Partners: Government of Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Pradesh State Irrigation Development

Corporation), Sir Ratan Tata Trust

67

PHOTO: CLAUDE AVEZARD PHOTO: CLAUDE AVEZARD

10

affordable, safe drinking water for all

Every year contaminated drinking water kills more than 1.5 million children under 5 and debilitates populations resulting in the loss of over 200 million workdays

– National Commission on Population

P U R I F Y I N G W A T E R

C O N T A M I N A T I O N I N R U R A L

I N D I A

Last year was one of the worst years of his life for Prabhakar Rao, Sarpanch (village head) of Amudalapally village in Andhra Pradesh. Who ever he’d meet in the village told him of illness at home, of their families suffering from diarrhoea and stomach cramps, and of mounting medical expenses.

There was Jesudas’ family that was badly hit. For over nine months Jesudas, his wife and their daughter had recurrent stomach ailments. They couldn’t go for wage labour work everyday and their daughter Swaroopa, who was in Std IX missed several days of school.” Jesudas was one of the poorer families of the village and Prabhakar Rao, remembers that “more than half of what they managed to earn from wage labour was spent on saline bottles, hospital admittance and injections.”

With such tales of illness dominating, what could the head of the village do? “The doctors said that the drinking water was the culprit. I got bleaching powder and sprinkled it from time to time, but this just gave relief temporarily.”

Looking back to how things started to change for the better, Rao says “I don’t know how this happened, but we were approached by the water team who showed us that our drinking water was highly contaminated. They asked me if the residents of Amudalapally wanted to have a safe drinking water plant. How could I say no? It was an answer to our prayers.”

Prabhakar Rao became one of the most proactive village heads in the Krishna district who within two weeks got the formalities to start off the water plant at the village completed. “It was easy to get the Panchayat members’ nod for the water plant since the families of many of the members’ were suffering as well. Some were getting packaged water from the market, but it was quite expensive,” says Prabhakar Rao.

affordable, safe

drinking water for all

JESUDAS’ STORY WITH INPUTS FROM OTHER

USERS IN ANDHRA PRADESH

71

PHOTO:

Kombali with her infant

“I had no idea the extent of illness drinking water can cause in your life, now that we are buying water from the plant – for a can of 12 litres I pay only Rs 1 – I can feel the difference. We’ve been very regular to work and have recently taken two acres of agricultural land on lease paying Rs 10,000,” Jesudas’ story is that of lives that are being revived with the new solution - the Community Safe Drinking Water solution, which as Prabhakar Rao proudly points out, “Every panchayat should consider, there is nothing more noble or sacred than being able to give the community that has elected you, access to clean, safe drinking water for life.”

Like Amudalapally, there are 150 villages and 4,50,000 people who rely on safe drinking water from their village-based plants.

VITAL STATISTICS: SAFE WATER


Districts: Krishna, Prakasam, Guntur, West Godavari, Nalgonda, Karimnagar, Ranga Reddy,

Visakhapatnam, East Godavari (to commence soon in Punjab and Rajasthan)


Safe Water plants installed: 100

Population covered: 4,50,000

Partners: Rural water and Sanitation department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, WaterHealth

India, Tata Projects Limited, Global Partnership on Output Based Aid, MP LADS, ACDP, NRIs,

Institutions, individual donors and village panchayats.

Land for the plant, assigning the use of the existing pond to

the plant to draw water from, and encouraging the community to

contribute towards setting up the plant, started off a process that ended with

Amudalapally inaugurating its Community Safe Drinking

Water plant this year.

73

PHOTO: RANJIT SINHA PHOTO:

Kombali with her infant Kombali with her infant

10

“I believe that my political passion to help the weak and helpless is not submitted to national borders. As a young woman conscious of women’s rights, I especially believe that there is much undone in the field of health and education of the youth, and especially young girls. Research has proven the connection between the education - and status - of women, and the development of the society itself.

I strongly believe that education, health and equal opportunities for all play the three most important roles in shaping developed societies in countries around the world.

In my belief these three areas of special importance are reflected in the work of the Naandi Foundation, and therefore I am dedicated to spend some of my working capacity for the benefit of this organisation, as a future a goodwill ambassador . “

- Anna LjunggrenStortingsrepresentant (Member of Parliament, Norway)Arbeiderpartiet

concerned citizens sign up

C O R P O R A T E A N D

I N D I V I D U A L S O C I A L

R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y

WHAT OUR VOLUNTEERS AND SUPPORTERS HAVE TO SAY

“We at Capgemini Norway strongly believe in being responsible members of the community we live in. We are committed to fulfi lling our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by supporting the cause of the underprivileged girl children in India. We are encouraging the spirit of giving back to society of our enthusiastic Norwegian consultants by enabling them to sponsor the education of girl children in urban slums through our CSR partner Naandi. This is not a local CSR program but crosses the borders in a global world.”

- ANDERS H. LIER, VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF OUTSOURCING SERVICES,

CAPGEMINI NORWAY

“The more you involve yourself, the more it reminds you of your responsibility to work for a better society. We get to spend only a day or two in a week for social activities. But let’s say we are team of fi ve and even if each one of us contributes an hour a day, that’s a good fi ve hours. And the qualitative support one can extend to a destitute child in those fi ve hours is humoungous.”

- RITU MASAND, OPS MANAGER, BANK OF AMERICA, HYDERABAD

“Children need support fi rst from parents, secondly from teachers and then from the community. While parental and teachers’ support is internal, external community participation can make learning a fun activity by introducing the right set of tools. For instance, when I volunteered in Government Primary School, Toli Chowki, I suggested that elder students must help younger ones. So, while preparing a fl ying swan using the cardboard, when younger students had diffi culty, others immediately offered help. This kind of mentoring will reinforce a sense of responsibility to share what they know. This reminds us to give back to the community in which ever way one can.”

- MICHAEL FRANCIS, SOFTWARE PROFESSIONAL, COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL

CORPORATIONS, HYDERABAD

concernedcitizenssign up

77


A corporate volunteer from Foursoft interacts with children at schools sharing learning tips and tricks and livening up the classroom

“Girl children in India continue to be victims of gender discrimination and are burdened with household chores at a tender age. Education empowers these children by providing knowledge and skillsets. Project Nanhi Kali, is a step towards this direction, assuring the girl child to complete 10 years of formal education. Thus improving quality of life and thereby benefi ting the society in the long-run.”

- RAJEEV JUNEJA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MANKIND PHARMA LTD, MUMBAI

“Three years ago, when seven friends fl oated Mitr Foundation to support education of underprivilleged children, we had little experience and needed someone to hold our hand. They say “Fortune favours the brave”. And indeed, good fortune took us to the doors of Naandi where a group of young, vibrant and committed people showed us the way to Government Primary School, Aliyabad. With constant monitoring and interaction, and sometimes, with gentle reminders, Naandi helps us - older privilleged women - to pull up our socks when we tend to get complacent!

- NEENA RAO, FOUNDER MEMBER, MITR FOUNDATION

“While we were in school, speaking in English was considered a fad. Hence, everyone avoided English speaking. As a result, I wasn’t fl uent and when I started working I could hardly utter a sentence. But that was then. Today, communication is an important requisite and anyone lacking it will end up feeling inferior. It can also ruin career prospects. Unfortunately, most of the schools today don’t inculcate this habit. As part of the community initiative pioneered by Naandi, every week when we visit schools, we make sure that children are taught meaningful words that’ll help them communicate better.”

- G VIJAYA LAKSHMI, JUNIOR MANAGER, DR REDDY ’S LABORATORIES LTD,

HYDERABAD

“Each time I visit children in government schools, I feel convinced that I am reinforcing confi dence in them. During one of my fi rst visits to the school, children were fi nding it tough to express themselves, be it storytelling or answering simple questions. But now, they have overcome their fear and are quite articulate. I taught 15 new English words for a group of 24 children. The following week, I was amazed to see that they even went ahead with sentence construction. I feel helping these needy children gives me more happiness than shaking a leg on the dance fl oor.”

- SRINIVAS YADDEMANI, ADVOCATE, HYDERABAD

79


“Education will ensure girl children a bright future and help them lead an independent life. Project Nanhi Kali (NK) has brought in joy and hope into the lives of thousands of girl children. Jhonson &Jhonson’s association with the NK project has managed to help hundreds of girl children. We believe the only way to ensure that every girl child avails her opportunity to accomplish her dreams can be possible only through quality education.”

- DR RAM VAIDYA, REGIONAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, JOHNSON &

JOHNSON LTD, MUMBAI.

“It was very nice and heartening to discover that we have some of the exceptionally brilliant students in schools. I’m thankful to Naandi for letting me understand reality and invest some of my time so productively helping children. Apart from academic support, it also gives us a great pleasure celebrating specifi c occasions with those children, who otherwise may not celebrate festivals with pomp and gaiety.”

- SHANTANU TANDON, TRAINING MANAGER, ORACLE INDIA PVT LTD, HYDERABAD.

“A boy’s education implies education of an individual. But education of a girl child refl ects education of the entire family. With an objective to identify marginalized and needy girl children, and provide them with social and material input to ensure they complete at least 10 years of quality formal schooling. It’s indeed a pleasure to be part of the programme pioneered by Naandi in association with the KC Mahindra Trust, which is supporting thousands of underprivilleged children.”

- DR RABBI PUTHIRAN, PRINCIPAL, ST MARY ’S COLLEGE, HYDERABAD

“Naandi truly epitomizes the dawn in the lives of countless children. What sets it apart from others is the fact that it’s a great thought in action. Sometimes in the midst of the India Shining story, we forget that the huge chunk of population is not so privilleged. We require platforms that can bridge the gap between desire to help and actual execution. Initiatives such as Nanhi Kali which is supporting girl child education are an effort in this direction. Being part of such programmes, gives me utmost satisfaction.”

- RAJI AJWANI, SALES PROMOTION MANAGER, ANDHRA PRADESH & KARNATAKA,

YES BANK LTD, HYDERABAD

VITAL STATISTICS: INVOLVING CIVIL SOCIETY

Number of volunteers: 1,737 – from rural India and

from scores of corporates and institutions in Mumbai

and Hyderabad

81


Documents

schoolchild playing on his grandfather’s rickshaw after his ......Sambari was suffering from severe cramps and the midwife was not sure what to do. So even when we wanted to take